Medizinische Universität Wien

The Medizinische Universität Wien is the largest medical organisation & one of the most important top level research institutions in Austria. It employs 5000 staff, including 1800 researchers. Each year, 100,000 patients are treated as inpatients at 31 university clinics, 605,000 outpatients receive initial treatment in the day clinics. Medizinische Universität Wien is Austria's largest medical training centre where some 8000 students are currently completing studies in human medicine & dentistry.

EuroTEAM project staff:

Professor Josef Smolen, MD is Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Division of Rheumatology and Department of Medicine 3, Medizinische Universität Wien, and Chairman of the 2nd Department of Medicine, Hietzing Hospital, Vienna, Austria.

He served as President of EULAR from 2003-5 and is a co-editor of a number of rheumatology textbooks. Josef is a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences-Leopoldina, an honorary member of several national rheumatological societies, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Honorary Doctor of Lund University, Sweden. His major scientific interests concern elucidation of the pathogenesis of rheumatic diseases, translational research, outcomes and epidemiologic research, and novel therapies in rheumatic diseases. His special focus is on rheumatoid arthritis including early arthritis and experimental arthritis, spondyloarthritis, including psoriatic arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Professor Guenter Steiner studied biochemistry at the University of Vienna where he graduated in 1986. He is professor of biochemistry and immunology and head of the research laboratory of the Division of Rheumatology at the Medical University of Vienna. In addition, he is supervising the Autoimmune Diagnostics Laboratory at the 2nd Department of Medicine, Hietzing Hospital; Vienna. Furthermore, he is Co-ordinator of the Research Cluster for Rheumatology, Balneology and Rehabilitation of the Ludwig Boltzmann Society.

Guenter's research activities are focused on development of novel tools for diagnosis of rheumatic diseases and on investigations addressing the pathogenetic mechanisms of systemic autoimmune diseases. He is particularly interested in the role of T-cells, autoantibodies and Toll-like receptors in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. To address these issues, studies are performed in patients and various animal arthritis models including: TNF transgenic mice, collagen-induced arthritis, pristane-induced arthritis and the KRN serum transfer model. Recently, he developed an interest in the role and therapeutic potential of hydrogen sulfide, a novel member of the gasotransmitter family, in inflammatory and degenerative rheumatic diseases.

Dr Tanja Stamm, studied occupational therapy and educational science in Vienna. Thereafter, she completed the European Master of Science for occupational therapy in Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands and UK in 2002 and another master degree for business administration and management at the Technical University of Vienna in 2003. In 2003 she started her doctoral studies in Munich, Germany, and Eastbourne, UK, which she completed in 2005 (Dr. Hum. Biol.) and 2007 (PhD). In December 2007, she was awarded the postdoctoral lecture qualification as "Privatdozentin” at the Medizinische Universität Wien for "Health Sciences".

Since 1999, she has been the research scientist and leader of the Clinimetry team at the Department of Internal Medicine III, Division of Rheumatology, at the Medizinische Universität Wien. Since 2009, Tanja has been the head of the master program "Health Assisting Engineering” at the University of Applied Sciences FH Campus Wien, Vienna. Her research interests are outcome measures, the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) , qualitative research and occupational science. She also coordinates international multi-centre clinical trials: Stop Arthritis Very Early (SAVE) and Definitive Intervention in New Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis (DINORA). From June 2009 to June 2011, she was "Chairperson” of the Standing Committee of the Allied Health Professions of the "European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)”.